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Received 


University  of  California, 


OF1 


A 


MEMORIAL  TO  CONGRESS 


TO   SECURE 


AN  ADEQUATE   APPROPRIATION 


FOR  A  PROMPT  AND  THOROUGH 


WITH  AX  APPENDIX  BY 


SYLVESTER   WATERHOUSE, 

Of  Washington    University. 


EDITION,  5000  COPIES. 

LJ  JNi  V  Jcj  1\  0 1 T  JL    O  .r 

CALIFORNIA. 

'N^  ./' 

ST.    LOUIS: 
JOHN  J.  DALY  &  Co.,  PRINTERS,  213  NORTH  THIRD  STREET. 

1877. 


The  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  River 
Improvement  Convention,  held  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Oct. 
llth  and  12th,  1877: 

Resolved.  That  the  President  of  this  Convention  select  an  Executive 
Committee  of  Nine  (together  with  the  President  of  this  Convention) 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  Congress,  setting  forth 
more  in  detail  the  views  of  this  Convention  upon  the  subject  of  the 
improvement  of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  river ;  to  call  future 
conventions  if  they  deem  it  expedient  to  do  so  ;  to  collect  and  publish 
statistics  bearing  on  the  subject,  for  the  information  of  the  people  and 
of  the  Government ;  and  to  use  all  further  means  to  procure  early  and 
favorable  action  upon  this  subject  by  Congress. 

In  accordance  with  the  above  resolution,  the  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  members  of  said  Committee : 

HON.  J.  HAM.  DAVIDSON,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

HON.  JOHN  HOGAN,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

HON.  M.  Y.  JOHNSON,  Galena,  Ills. 

Gov.  E.  0.  STANARD,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

HON.  J.  B.  RICHARDS,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

MR.  JOHN  A.  SCUDDER,  Pres.  Me.  Ex.,  St.  Louis. 

HON.  J.  H.  BARBER,  Chester,  Ills. 

PROF.  C.  J.  FORSHEY,  New  Orleans,  La. 

ME.  FRED'K  SCHULENBURG,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

HON.  JOSEPH  BROWN,  Chairman. 
S.  WATERHOUSE,  Secretary. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY   OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


MEMORIAL. 


^i 


HONORABLE  SENATORS  AND  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE 

CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

On  the  llth  of  October,  1877,  a  Convention  met  in  the 
city  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  It  was  not  a  political  organi 
zation.  Its  members  were  practical  business  men,  and 
met  under  the  pressure  of  a  felt  necessity  to  deliberate 
upon  the  commercial  interests  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Through  Boards  of  Trade,  Chambers  of  Commerce,  and 
other  organizations,  almost  every  city  from  the  Balize 
to  St.  Paul  sent  delegations.  The  representatives  of  the 
commercial  interests  of  eighteen  states  sat  in  council. 
The  Convention,  with  an  earnest  concert  of  action,  resolved 
to  petition  Congress  to  provide  adequate  means  for  the 
deepening  of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  and  for  the 
removal  of  every  obstruction  to  navigation  from  St.  Paul 
to  the  Balize.  It  is  confidently  hoped  that  an  appeal 
which  touches  such  vital  interests,  and  which  is  sanctioned 
by  the  approval  of  12,000,000  of  people,  will  receive  the 
favorable  consideration  of  your  honorable  body. 

The  Executive  Committee  appointed  by  the  St.  Paul 
Convention  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  be  presented  to 


Congress  respectfully  submit  the  following  reasons  in  favor 
of  an  immediate  grant  of  the  desired  appropriations : 

First.  The  Mississippi  valley  is  entitled  to  better  fa 
cilities  for  the  transaction  of  its  enormous  business.  The 
prosperity  of  a  population  of  20,000,000,  occupying  an 
area  of  1,200,000  square  miles,  is  greatly  dependent  upon 
the  condition  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

Obstructions  in  the  Mississippi  impair  the  usefulness 
and  efficiency  of  18,000  miles  of  river  navigation.  The 
following  figures  exhibit  the  productiveness  and  wealth  of 
the  Mississippi  valley.  With  the  exception  of  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  whose  position  renders  them  naturally 
tributary  to  the  river,  the  statistics  refer  exclusively  to 
the  states  that  border  upon  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

Area  in  square  miles  694,500 

Population  in  1870 12,000,000 

PRODUCTS  IN  1870. 

Wheat,  bushels 131,000,000 Value $118,425,000 

Corn,         "         782,000,000 "     238,465,000 

Oats,         "         152,000,000 "     40,840,000 

Barley,      "         14,540,000 "     7,455,000 

Rye,           "         10,000,000 "     5,666,000 

Potatoes,  "         41,626,000 "     22,928,000 

Tobacco,  pounds 220,495,000 "     15,700,000 

Cotton,         "      942,750,000 "     113,130,000 

Sugar  (of  La.  only),       "       190,672,500 "     11,440,000 

Hay,  tons 10,611,000 "     68,857,000 

Milch  cows,  number 3,839,000 "     91,354,000 

Cattle,                  "       6,100,000 "     107,340,000 

Swine,                  "        14,990,000 "     91,000,000 

Sheep,                   "       7,260,000 "     16,660,000 

Horses,                  "       4,462,000 "     251,900,000 

Mules,                  "       769,000 "     50,430,000 


These  impressive  aggregates  are  only  a  partial  exhibi 
tion  of  the  fertility  and  resources  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
But  these  products  are  mere  commodities,  and  the  com 
merce  which  exchanges  and  distributes  them  represents 
almost  incalculable  values.  The  Government  Eeport  upon 
the  Internal  Commerce  of  the  United  States  for  1876 
affirms  that  "  probably  the  total  value  of  our  internal  com 
merce  is  at  least  twenty-five  times  greater  than  the  value 
of  our  foreign  commerce."  But  our  international  trade 
now  amounts  to  more  than  $1,000,000,000  annually.  Upon 
the  extremely  modest  assumption  that  only  one-fifth  of 
these  exchanges  are  made  in  the  states  that  border  upon 
the  Mississippi,  then  commercial  values  to  the  extent  of 
$5,000,000,000  are  measurably  affected  by  the  stage  of 
water  in  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  indeed  true  that 
only  a  very  small  part  of  this  vast  traffic  is  ever  borne 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  yet  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  the  rate  by  river  determines  the  rate  by  rail. 
It  is  an  excess  of  caution  to  limit  the  benefits  of  an  unob 
structed  Mississippi  to  the  adjacent  states — the  advantage 
would  be  national.  The  improvement  of  the  river  would 
reduce  the  cost  of  transportation  throughout  the  country. 
Interests  of  such  transcendent  magnitude  deserve  Con 
gressional  protection  and  promotion. 

Second.  Practical  steamboatmen  assure  this  Committee 
that,  if  the  Mississippi  were  free  from  all  impediments, 
the  total  saving  in  the  less  cost,  lighter  draught,  and 
greater  capacity  of  boats,  in  greatly  reduced  rates  of  in 
surance,  in  the  avoidance  of  costly  delays,  and  in  the 
diminished  expenses  of  running,  would  be  fully  one-fourth. 
With  a  deepened  channel,  full  freights,  and  an  adequate 


6 

ocean  tonnage,  the  transportation  of  wheat  from  St.  Paul 
to  Liverpool,  by  the  Mississippi  route,  would  cost  eight  or 
ten  cents  a  bushel  less  than  shipments  by  way  of  New 
York. 

It  is  probable  that  the  economy  on  the  heavy  freights 
which  would  naturally  seek  exchange  by  an  unobstructed 
Mississippi  would  pay  for  the  proposed  improvements  in 
a  single  year.  The  permanent  deepening  of  the  Missis 
sippi  river  would  attract  a  large  foreign  trade,  and  open  a 
cheap  entrance  to  an  immigration  that  would  people  our 
wild  lands  and  develop  new  sources  of  public  wealth.  An 
enlightened  Congress  cannot  afford  to  neglect  the  national 
economy  which  an  improved  Mississippi  would  insure. 
The  possible  saving  in  the  movement  of  our  boundless  har 
vests  and  heavy  merchandise  is  almost  inestimable.  There 
is  now  an  urgent  demand  for  retrenchment — but  there  is 
no  economy  which  would  so  greatly  enrich  the  nation  as 
a  liberal  outlay  for  the  immediate  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Third.  The  facilities  which  an  unobstructed  Mississippi 
would  afford  for  national  unity  and  defense  cannot  wisely 
be  ignored.  Material  ties  are  perhaps  the  strongest  alli 
ance  of  states.  The  bonds  of  great  and  recognized  interest 
are  nearly  indissoluble.  The  military  service  which  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  rendered  in  the  late  war 
was  memorably  efficient.  The  foremost  governments  of 
Europe  long  since  adopted  the  policy  of  effectively  improv 
ing  their  rivers.  A  policy  which  bears  such  historic 
sanctions  of  wisdom  and  utility  forcibly  commends  itself 
to  the  consideration  of  American  statesmen. 


Fourth.  In  earlier  years,  our  Government  did  not  fully 
appreciate  the  importance  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  In 
the  distribution  of  Congressional  appropriations,  a  dispro 
portionate  share  was  allotted  to  the  sea-board  and  the 
lakes.  But  latterly  there  has  been  a  juster  recognition 
of  the  commercial  interests  of  this  valley. 

It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  our  Government  will  not  for 
sake  the  liberal  policy  which  has  lately  guided  its  action. 
Indeed  entire  justice  to  the  west  would  require  a  still 
more  generous  treatment.  There  is  now  in  the  Mississippi 
valley  a  preponderance  of  the  population  and  business  of 
the  whole  United  States. 

The  Mississippi,  which  forms  the  border-line  of  ten 
states,  and  which,  within  the  limits  of  navigation,  has  a 
bank-line  of  4000  miles,  is  too  important  a  factor  in  the 
commerce  of  this  country  for  the  Government  any  longer 
to  permit  its  efficacy  to  be  diminished  by  the  presence  of 
obstructions. 

Fifth.  There  is  an  urgent  need  of  an  immediate  and 
liberal  appropriation  for  the  improvement  of  the  Missis 
sippi  river.  The  speedy  completion  of  this  work  would 
not  only  open  a  great  thoroughfare  to  national  prosperity 
and  enable  the  country  to  avail  itself  of  exceptionally 
favorable  conditions  for  the  extension  of  its  foreign  trade, 
but  it  would  also  effect  an  ultimate  saving  for  the  Govern 
ment  itself.  Occasionally  the  appropriations  have  been  so 
inadequate  and  the  intervals  between  them  so  long,  that 
before  the  resumption  of  the  work,  the  improvements  have 
been  entirely  swept  away,  or  only  preserved  in  a  state  of 
partial  completion  and  utter  uselessness. 


8 

Gen.  J.  H.  Simpson,  of  the  IT.  S.  Engineers,  has  under 
his  charge  the  section  of  the  Mississippi  which  extends 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 
In  response  to  inquiries,  this  officer  recently  addressed  a 
communication  to  this  Committee,  in  which  he  expressed 
the  following  views : 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  seven  appropriations  of  $1, 000, 000  each  would 
accomplish  fully  as  much  as  twenty  of  $500,000  each  in  the  prosecution 
of  works  of  the  character  required  in  the  Mississippi.  If  appropria 
tions  are  to  be  limited  to  $200,000,  or  thereabouts,  per  year,  it  would 
be  as  well  to  abandon  the  expectation  of  an  improved  river,  for  it  will 
never  be  realized.  Such  sums  would  enable  many  local  improvements, 
of  more  or  less  value,  to  be  made,  but  nothing  towards  a  permanent 
deep  channel." 

There  are  several  public  improvements  of  the  Missis 
sippi  now  in  progress.  In  their  unfinished  state,  they  are 
useless  and  insecure.  To  prevent  an  idle  expenditure  of 
money,  Congress  ought  at  once  to  appropriate  a  sufficient 
sum  to  complete  these  works  and  free  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  from  every  impediment. 

In  compliance  with  the  instructions  of  the  St.  Paul 
Convention,  this  Committee  asks  Congress  to  grant  an  ap 
propriation  of  §2,000,000  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  to  authorize  the  expenditure — under  the 
supervision  of  Government  Engineers — of  definite  sums 
upon  specific  portions  of  the  river,  as  follows  : 

Upon  the  section  from  St.  Paul  to  the  head  of  Keokuk  Rapids... $617,000 
"  the  foot  of  Keokuk  Eapids  to  the  mouth 

of  the  Illinois 383,000 

the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  to  Cairo 500,000 

Cairo  to  New  Orleans 500,000 

The  first  amount  recommended  in  this  special  assign 
ment  of  appropriations  accords  with  the  estimate  of  the 


U.  S.  Engineer  who  has  charge  of  the  upper  section  of 
the  river. 

Your  Committee  believe  that  the  proposed  appropria 
tion  is  justified  by  every  consideration  of  public  economy 
.and  commercial  prosperity. 

A  river  endowed  with  such  vast  capabilities  of  useful 
ness  should  be  fitted  for  its  grand  destiny.  But  the  Mis 
sissippi  can  never  fulfil  its  great  office  of  commercial  ex 
change,  till  it  possesses  in  the  lowest  stages  of  water  a 
permanent  channel  of  the  following  depth : 

From  St.  Paul  to  St.  Louis 5  feet 

"      St.  Louis  to  Cairo 8     " 

"      Cairo  to  New  Orleans 10     " 

By  a  formal  vote,  the  Executive  Committee  have 
•expressed  an  earnest  desire  that  "  the  Government,  in 
addition  to  appropriations  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  will  also  provide  for  the  removal  of  ob 
structions  from  the  channels  leading  to  adjacent  ports 
where  custom-houses  are  located  and  imposts  collected." 

In  the  name,  then,  of  the  commercial  interests  of  this 
valley,  we  respectfully  yet  earnestly  ask  your  honorable 
body  to  grant  the  petition  of  your  memorialists,  and  make 
an  early  and  adequate  appropriation  for  the  improvement 
of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  on  Mississippi 
Hiver  Improvements, 

JOSEPH  BROWN, 

Chairman. 

S.  WATERHOUSE, 

Secretary. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY   OF 

CALIFORNIA. 

J/ 

APPENDIX. 


The  following  paper,  prepared  in  the  interest  of  the  St. 
Louis  Board  of  Trade,  was  submitted  to  the  St.  Paul 
Convention  and  referred  by  that  body  to  its  Executive 
Committee  for  action.  In  accordance  with  a  vote  of  this 
Committee,  the  article — enlarged  by  the  introduction  of  a 
few  statistics  which  have  been  obtained  since  the  date  of 
the  Convention — is  annexed  to  the  memorial,  as  a  fuller 
presentation  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  a  Congressional 
appropriation. 

WASHINGTON  UNIVEESITY, 

SAINT  Louis,  Mo. 
Hon.  JOSEPH  BROWN, 

President  of  the  St.  Paul  River  Improvement  Convention: 

DEAR  SIR  :  Having  been  honored  by 
the  St.  Louis  Board  of  Trade  with  an  appointment  as 
one  of  its  delegates  to  this  Convention,  I  greatly  regret 
that  professional  duties  will  prevent  my  attendance.  An 
enforced  absence  constrains  me  to  submit  my  views  by 
letter. 

COST    OF    DETENTIONS. 

A  recent  trip  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Louis  by  boat  has 
deeply  impressed  me  with  the  necessity  of  improving  the 
Mississippi  river.  One  of  my  associates  sailed  from 


12 

Moville,  a  port  of  northern  Ireland,  about  the  same  time 
that  I  left  St.  Paul,  and  he  actually  reached  St.  Louis 
first,  making  a  journey  of  over  4000  miles  in  less  time 
than  I  was  able  to  make  a  voyage  of  800  miles ! 

In  good  stages  of  water,  it  usually  takes  a  boat  four 
days  to  go  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Louis.  The  round  trip  of 
1600  miles,  including  stoppages  at  every  point  for  passen 
gers  and  freight,  has  been  made  in  less  than  seven  days. 
But  my  return,  including  two  clays  of  waiting  for  the 
steamer  which  had  been  detained  by  low  water,  occupied 
thirteen  days  ! 

Nor  is  this  an  isolated  case.  During  the  past  summer, 
thousands  of  passengers  have  experienced  similar,  though 
not  perhaps  equal,  detentions ;  and  thousands  of  tons  of 
merchandise  have  been  detained,  by  the  low  stage  of  water, 
for  days  beyond  the  proper  time  of  shipment  and  delivery. 
In  these  days  of  rapid  exchanges,  nowhere  is  the  truth 
of  the  adage  that  "  time  is  money  "  more  sensibly  felt 
than  in  the  transactions  of  commerce.  The  delay  of 
passengers  or  goods  implies  loss.  In  the  consumption  of 
coal,  in  the  wages  of  the  crew,  in  the  salaries  of  the  offi 
cers,  in  the  interest  on  vested  capital,  in  the  loss  of  possible 
profits,  and  in  the  interruption  of  the  errands  of  friendship 
and  commerce,  the  damage  which  any  protracted  deten 
tion  inflicts  upon  steamboat  companies,  upon  merchants 
and  passengers,  is  always  serious. 

An  intelligent  steamboat  captain,  whose  judgment  has 
been  informed  and  matured  by  more  than  twenty  years  of 
service,  recently  assured  me  that  the  cost  of  the  detention 
of  an  upper  Mississippi  steamer  was  $16  an  hour.  Upon 
the  assumption  that  the  cost  per  hour  is  only  one-half  of 
this  estimate,  then  the  loss  on  our  trip  alone  was  more 


13 

than  $1300;  and  the  aggregate  losses  which  all  of  the 
boats  incurred  from  detention  by  low  water  must  amount 
during  the  present  season  to  an  immense  sum. 

This  has  been  a  year  of  exceptionally  low  water,  but 
every  season  there  is  more  or  less  interruption  of  naviga 
tion  by  sand-bars,  and  the  total  loss  is  very  heavy.  In 
1867,  the  Northern  Line  Packet  Companies  paid  over 
$200,000  for  lightering  over  the  Keokuk  Rapids,  and  during 
the  last  six  weeks  of  that  season  they  did  not  receive  more 
than  half  the  grain  that  was  offered,  because  it  cost  so 
much  to  transfer  it  over  the  rapids.  How  many  hundred 
thousand  dollars  the  sand-bars  have  cost  the  company  this- 
year  may  be  inferred  from  the  preceding  figures.  But  the 
damage  from  obstructed  navigation  is  an  annual  assess 
ment  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  the  loss  of 
any  one  year,  however  great,  sinks  into  insignificance  when 
compared  with  the  total  losses  that  have  ensued  since  the 
first  steamboat  cleft  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  benefits  of  an  unobstructed  navigation  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  have  become  national,  but  heretofore  the  injuries 
of  an  interrupted  navigation  have  been  individual.  This- 
is  clearly  unjust.  At  a  cost  of  over  $4,000,000,  the  Gov 
ernment  has  constructed  around  the  Keokuk  Rapids  a, 
canal  eight  miles  long,  three  hundred  feet  wide,  and  five 
feet  deep.  The  work  is  a  noble,  though  tardy,  recognition 
of  the  material  interests  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  In 
high  water,  the  canal  is  unnecessary ;  and  in  low  water, 
when  it  is  most  needed,  its  usefulness  is  greatly  impaired 
by  the  obstructions  above  and  below  it.  The  presence 
of  five  feet  of  water  in  the  canal  is  a  fact  of  vastly  less 
commercial  importance,  if  in  scores  of  places  in  the  upper 
Mississippi  there  are  only  two  and  one-half  or  three  feet 


14 

of  water.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  materially  the  numerous 
sand-bars  which  blockade  500  miles  of  the  upper  Missis 
sippi  restrict  the  utility  of  eight  miles  of  uninterrupted 
navigation.  To  complete  the  usefulness  of  the  canal,  the 
Government  will  be  compelled  to  maintain  a  channel  of 
equal  depth  throughout  the  length  of  the  upper  Mississippi. 

DISCOURAGEMENT   OF   AGRICULTURAL   INDUSTRY. 

According  to  the  judgment  of  commercial  experts,  the 
value  of  the  traffic  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  is  about 
$400,000,000  a  year.  The  means  of  verifying  this  esti 
mate  are  not  at  hand.  If  the  statement  is  only  an  approx 
imation,  it  still  shows  the  colossal  magnitude  of  the  river 
trade.  Of  this  grand  aggregate,  the  business  experience 
of  the  Keokuk  Northern  Line  Packet  Company*  proves 
that  at  least  one-half  is  diverted  from  river  to  rail  by  the 
vexations  and  delays  arising  from  shallow  water.  This 
diversion  generally  increases  the  cost  of  transportation  and 
diminishes  the  profits  of  agriculture.  Now  it  is  a  sound 
principle  of  political  economy  that  the  creators  of  wealth 
should  never  be  subjected  to  oppressive  burdens. 

To  cities  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
railroads  grant  river  rates,  but  heavily  assess  the  towns 
which  are  not  adjacent  to  the  stream.  These  unjust  dis 
criminations  exact  a  burdensome  tribute  from  the  farmers. 
When  the  water  is  high,  the  railroads  reduce  their  charges 
to  the  lowest  practicable  point,  in  order  successfully  to 
compete  with  the  river,  but  when  the  water  is  low,  or  the 
river  is  closed  by  ice,  then  the  railroads  profiting  by  the 


*The  testimony  of  this  company  is  emphasized  by  the  magnitude  of  their 
commercial  operations.  Their  fleet  now  consists  of  sixteen  steamers,  three  tow- 
boats,  and  forty-five  barges. 


15 

embarrassments  of  an  obstructed  navigation  raise  their 
tariffs,  and  the  difference  in  the  rates  comes,  partly  at 
least,  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  farmers.  This  unnecessary 
tax  disheartens  agricultural  industry  and  represses  the 
production  of  wealth.  When  the  discouraged  farmer  finds 
that,  after  all  his  hard  work,  it  costs  nearly  as  much  to 
•send  his  grain  to  market  as  he  gets  for  it,  he  is  inclined 
to  restrict  his  industry  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  domestic 
wants,  and  the  country  loses  those  possible  values  which 
-a  cheap  system  of  transportation  would  have  stimulated 
him  to  produce. 

The  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  would  cheapen 
breadstuff's  throughout  the  land  and  confer  a  mutual 
benefit  upon  producer  and  consumer.  The  western  farmer 
could  save  more  money  and  consequently  could  buy  more 
:goods,  while  the  eastern  manufacturer  could  live  more 
cheaply  and  therefore  could  sell  his  fabrics  at  a  lower 
price.  In  these  times  of  industrial  adversity,  a  public 
work  that  tends  to  lessen  the  cost  of  subsistence  is  specially 
worthy  of  the  active  encouragement  of  the  Government. 

THE    RELATIVE    CHEAPNESS    OF   WATER   FREIGHTS. 

Obviously  carriage  by  water  is  far  cheaper  than  trans 
portation  by  rail.  Rival  trains  never  run  on  the  same 
railroad,  but  any  number  of  competitive  boats  can  ply  on 
the  same  river.  Every  railway  company  possesses  its  own 
track,  but  no  corporation  has  an  exclusive  title  to  the 
Mississippi  river.  Apart  from  its  natural  cheapness,  river 
freightage  is  still  further  reduced  by  the  active  competition 
of  different  lines  of  steamers.  Even  if  the  Mississippi 
were  not  used  for  commercial  purposes,  yet  there  would  be 
<a  great  economy  in  improving  its  channel,  for  the  mere 


16 

possibility  of  its  use  would  force  the  railroads  to  lower 
their  charges  to  river  rates,  and  the  total  saving  in  the 
price  of  transportation  would  many  times  exceed  the  cost 
of  the  proposed  improvements. 

CARRYING   CAPACITY    OF    BARGES. 

The  heavy  expense  of  construction,  equipment,  running 
and  repairs,  the  large  force  required  for  their  operation, 
and  the  comparatively  small  work  accomplished  by  a  single 
engine,  must  always  render  railroads  a  costly  system  of 
transportation.  The  bounty  of  Providence  has  freely  pro 
vided  the  river  for  our  commercial  convenience.  There  is- 
no  cost  of  construction,  but  only  of  improvement.  In  a 
good  stage  of  water,  even  upon  the  upper  Mississippi,  a 
steam-tug  can  towT  eight  or  ten  barges,  and  the  freight  of 
these  barges,  if  fully  loaded,  would  fill  respectively  trains 
of  384  and  480  cars.  What  a  number  of  engines,  force  of 
men,  and  outlay  of  money  it  would  take  to  transfer  by 
rail  the  load  of  a  single  tow-boat !  On  the  lower  Missis 
sippi,  the  achievements  of  the  tow-boats  are  still  more 
extraordinary.  A  steam-tug  once  towed  into  New  Orleans 
a  fleet  of  barges  whose  cargo  would  have  freighted  1500 
cars  !  This  exceptional  exploit  shows  the  possibility  of  the 
barge  system. 

Forty-six  coal-fleets  were  once  detained  at  Pittsburg 
Landing  by  low  water.  Keleased  from  their  embargo 
by  a  sudden  rise  of  the  river,  369  coal-flats,  bearing  a 
freight  of  more  than  4,000,000  bushels  of  coal,  sailed  from 
the  port  of  Pittsburg  within  the  brief  period  of  three  days. 
In  1876,  Pittsburg  shipped  by  river — mostly  to  towns  on 
the  lower  Mississippi — more  than  62,000,000  bushels  of 
coal.  A  large  portion  of  this  coal  was  destined  for  the 


17 

use  of  river  and  ocean  steamers  —  a  fact  of  significant 
importance  in  its  relation  to  the  foreign  trade  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  The  total  investments  of  Pittsburg 
in  coal- transports  amount  to  $5,000,000.  These  facts, 
which  are  authorized  by  a  Government  Keport,  not  only 
exhibit  the  carrying  capacity  of  barges,  but  also  show  the 
enormous  amount  of  tonnage  which  its  affluents  contribute 
to  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi. 

During  the  present  season,  more  than  thirty  steamboats 
have  been  running  upon  the  waters  of  the  upper  Missouri 
and  the  Yellowstone. 

The  number  and  tonnage  of  all  the  craft  now  plying  on 
the  Mississippi  and  its  affluents  form  aggregates  which 
will  doubtless  surprise  persons  unfamiliar  with  the  magni 
tude  of  our  river  commerce. 

According  to  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  the  gross  enrolled 
tonnage  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  was  as 
follows : 

FISCAL  YEAR,  1876. 

No.  of  vessels 2,865 

Tons 400,512 

Official  records  justify  an  addition  to  this  aggregate  of 
95  vessels  and  20,000  tons  as  the  tmenrolled  tonnage  of 
the  port  of  St.  Louis  alone. 

It  will  aid  our  conception  of  the  vast  amount  of  mer 
chandise  which  these  fleets  can  transport  to  recollect  that, 
during  the  business  season,  even  the  raft-boats  make 
numerous  trips;  and  some  of  the  large  steamers,  plying 
on  limited  courses,  make  one  hundred  voyages.  If  the 
present  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  is  so  enormous,  what 
would  be  its  limit  after  the  channel  has  been  permanently 
deepened  ? 


18 

NATURAL  ROUTES  OF  TRANSIT. 

Where  tliere  are  no  obstructions  to  navigation,  bulky 
commodities  instinctively  seek  water  transit. 

The  foregoing  statement  has  been  singularly  confirmed 
by  recent  changes  in  the  movement  of  grain.  It  is  esti 
mated  by  the  Government  Statistician  that  "  ninety-two 
per  cent,  of  the  freights  shipped  east  from  Chicago  by 
lake  consists  of  breadstuffs." 

The  following  figures — which  are  worthy  of  a  careful 
examination — all  refer  to  the  shipments  of  wheat  from  the 
Mississippi  valley  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard : 

Shipments  during  the  two  weeks  ending  May  12th,  1877 : 

By  rail 2,550,000  bushels. 

By  lake 4,490,000 

Shipments  during  the  two  weeks  ending  October  12th,  1877 : 

By  rail 1,955,000  bushels. 

By  lake 9,563,000       " 

Shipments  by  rail  during  the   eleven  weeks  ending 

October  14th,  1876 17,893,800  bushels. 

"      1877 10,653,100       " 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  wheat  transported  in  May 
was  the  remnant  of  the  relatively  small  crop  of  1876 ;  but 
even  then,  when  the  quantity  of  cereal  tonnage  was  less 
than  usual,  the  amount  of  wheat  carried  east  by  rail,  was 
about  one-third  larger  than  the  shipments  by  car  in  the 
busiest  portion  of  1877,  after  a  harvest  of  unparalleled 
abundance.  In  view  of  the  extraordinary  crop  of  the  present 
season,  it  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  quantity 
of  wheat  conveyed  by  rail  would  be  much  larger  this  year 
than  it  was  last  year  :  but  statistics  show  that,  during 
eleven  weeks  only  of  the  present  season,  there  has  been  a 
comparative  decrease  of  over  7,000,000  bushels  in  rail 


19 

freights.  Since  the  new  harvest  was  garnered,  the  rail 
roads  have  carried  scarcely  one-half  of  the  grain  which 
they  had  the  facilities  to  handle.  Meanwhile  the  lake 
and  canal  boats  have  been  freighted  almost  to  the  limit  of 
their  capacity.  The  preceding  tables  show  a  surprising 
increase  in  transit  by  the  water  route.  For  a  given  time 
daring  the  present  year,  the  fall  shipments  by  lake  and 
canal  were  more  than  double  the  spring  shipments.  The 
season  of  transit  and  the  extent  of  the  harvest  only  par 
tially  account  for  this  increase;  the  full  explanation  of 
this  larger  patronage  of  the  lakes  must  be  sought  in  the 
popularity  and  economy  of  water  carriage.  These  facts 
significantly  indicate  how  vast  a  commerce  would  float 
upon  the  Mississippi,  if  its  channel  were  ahvays  open  to 
an  unobstructed  navigation. 

With  late  exceptions,  the  railroads  have  for  the  last 
fifteen  years  been  steadily  gaining  business  at  the  expense 
of  the  water  routes.  The  friends  of  the  river  can  cherish 
no  reasonable  hope  of  a  successful  competition  with  the 
railways  in  the  conveyance  of  express  goods  and  light  mer 
chandise.  It  is  chiefly  in  the  foreign  exportation  of  cereals 
and  other  heavy  wares  that  a  just  expectation  of  a  mate 
rial  enlargement  of  the  river  trade  may  be  entertained. 
The  reason  why  so  much  business  has  been  diverted  from 
the  Mississippi  is  obvious.  The  existing  obstacles  have 
discouraged  investments  in  steamboat  property  and  pre 
vented  that  full  equipment,  compact  organization,  and 
vigorous  co-operation  which  have  achieved  such  success  on 
the  lakes.  The  uncertainty,  delay,  and  cost  incident  to  a 
difficult  navigation  have  largely  prevented  merchants  from 
forwarding  their  commodities  to  foreign  markets  by  the 
Mississippi  route;  while  capitalists  have  been  deterred 


20 

from  establishing  lines  of  steamships  to  New  Orleans  by 
the  obstructions  at  the  Balize,  and  by  doubts  of  their 
ability  to  procure  full  and  regular  cargoes. 

With  an  improved  channel,  the  Mississippi  would  bear 
unfailing  supplies  of  tonnage  to  Atlantic  steamers,  and 
then  a  largely  increased  trade,  together  with  an  intimate 
co-operation  of  river  and  ocean  lines,  would  permit  a  still 
further  reduction  in  the  rates  of  freightage  to  foreign 
markets. 

RELATIVE    RATES    BY    RIVER   AND    RAIL. 

Mercantile  experience  warrants  the  assertion  that  three 
and  one-third  mills  per  ton  per  mile  on  cargoes  of  grain 
and  heavy  merchandise  transported  by  river  is  a  paying 
rate.*  But  freight  cannot  be  profitably  carried  on  rail 
roads  for  less  than  eight  and  three-fourth  mills  per  ton 
per  mile,  and  the  average  tariff,  even  for  through  consign 
ments,  is  from  one  cent  to  one  cent  and  a  half  per  ton  per 
mile.  It  is  indeed  true  that  the  charges  have  at  times 
been  less  than  these  figures,  in  consequence  of  the  rivalry 
of  different  roads,  or  of  the  efforts  of  railways  to  divert 
shipments  from  the  Mississippi,  but  this  competition  has 
proved  disastrously  unprofitable.  Perhaps  to  this  unna 
tural  rivalry  the  bankruptcies  of  railway  companies,  and 
the  turbulence  and  wild  disorder  which  have  lately  dis 
turbed  the  industries  of  the  nation  may  partly  owe  their 
origin.  Possibly  the  cause  of  the  inability  of  the  railroads 


*  The  above  figures  are  based  upon  the  information  of  practical  steamboat- 
men.  But  according  to  official  authority,  the  statement  is  an  over-estimate  of 
freight  charges  by  river. 

"  The  cost  of  transportation  on  the  river  is  but  one  mill  per  ton  per  mile,  or 
only  about  one-tenth  of  the  average  cost  of  the  tonnage  movement  on  the  rail 
roads  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  only  one-sixth  of  the  average  cost  of  transpor 
tation  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad."—  U.  S.  Gov.  Sep.  Int.  Com.  and  Xav. 


21 

to  pay  their  workmen  customary  wages  was  an  excessive 
reduction  of  rates  for  the  purpose  of  competing  with  the 
great  water  routes.  The  railways  are  grandly  useful 
avenues  of  commerce,  but  they  should  not  attempt  to 
monopolize  the  carrying  trade  of  the  country.  With  the 
revival  of  industrial  prosperity,  it  will  test  the  capacity  of 
both  river  and  rail  to  effect  our  commercial  exchanges;  and 
meanwhile  the  railroads  should  not  endeavor,  by  a  compe 
tition  whose  success  will  inevitably  prove  fatal  to  them 
selves,  to  divert  bulky  commodities  from  their  natural 
channels  of  transit.  With  a  uniform  stage  of  deep  water, 
grain  can  be  shipped  from  St.  Paul  to  Liverpool  by  way 
of  the  Gulf  eight  or  ten  cents  a  bushel  cheaper  than  by 
any  other  route. 

After  the  close  of  navigation,  when  there  is  no  longer 
any  regulation  of  freights  by  river  competition,  the  rail 
roads  increase  their  charges,  and  then  the  difference  be 
tween  the  summer  rate  by  river  and  the  winter  rate  by 
rail  becomes  materially  greater.  Multiply  the  cereal  ex 
ports  of  the  Mississippi  valley  by  the  saving  per  bushel 
by  the  river  route,  and  the  product  is  a  startling  proof  of 
the  economy  which  water  carriage  can  effect. 

ECONOMY    IN    THE    MOVEMENT    OF    CEREALS. 

The  extent  of  this  possible  saving  in  freightage  is  im 
pressively  shown  by  the  fact  that  this  year  the  five  states 
of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  will 
be  able  to  export  100,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  alone  ! 
Except  in  California,  my  eyes  never  gazed  upon  such  mag 
nificent  prospects  of  agricultural  wealth  as  I  recently  saw 
in  the  fields  of  Minnesota.  In  whatever  direction  my 
excursions  led,  on  every  side  there  stretched  to  the  limits 


22 

of  vision  broad  acres  of  golden  grain.  Minnesota  alone 
produces  this  season  more  than  30,000,000  bushels  of 
wheat,  of  which  25,000,000  bushels  can  be  spared  for 
exportation.  The  wheat  crop  of  the  other  northwestern 
states  is  equally  bountiful. 

But  wheat  is  only  one  of  the  commodities  of  this  valley. 
In  1876,  the  corn  crop  of  the  states  contiguous  to  the 
Mississippi,  including  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  was  more  than 
780,000,000  bushels,  and  its  value  was  over  8238,000,000. 
From  its  bulkiness,  corn  is  naturally  a  water  freight. 
This  obvious  fact  is  confirmed  by  commercial  statistics. 
For  the  last  two  years,  the  shipments  of  corn  from  Chicago 

were  as  follows : 

1875.  1876. 

By  lake 21,850,000  bushels 28,100,000  bushels 

By  rail -1,321,000         " 17,299,000       " 

From  these  figures  it  will  be  seen  that,  in  spite  of  the 
desperate  competition  which  the  railroads  have  for  the  last 
few  years  been  carrying  on  with  water  carriage,  the  lake 
route  has  maintained  its  ascendency. 

The  foreign  consumption  of  American  maize  is  rapidly 
increasing.  Our  exportations  prove  that  a  knowledge  of 
the  excellence  of  Indian  corn  as  a  cheap  and  nutritive 
food  for  men  and  animals  is  fast  spreading  throughout 
Europe.*  In  1875,  the  amount  of  corn  exported  from  the 


*  The  price  of  corn  is  usually  less  than  half  the  market  rate  of  wheat :  and, 
according  to  the  following  analysis,  the  nutritious  power  of  Indian  corn  is  but 

little  inferior  to  that  of  the  best  wheat : 

Fine  English          Indian  Corn 
Wheaten  Flour.  Meal. 

Water 16  14 

Gluten 10  12 

Fat 2 

Starch,  &c 66 

100  100 

Johnston's  Chemistry  of  Common  Life. 


23 

United  States  was  a  little  more  than  20,000,000  bushels; 
in  1876,  it  was  over  50,000,000  bushels ;  in  1877,  it  was 
upwards  of  70,000,000  bushels.  When  the  United  States 
Department  in  the  French  Exposition  has  made  Europe 
fully  familiar  with  the  rich  and  healthful  qualities  of  our 
great  staple,  then  the  foreign  demand  for  Indian  corn  will 
be  greatly  enlarged.  The  capacity  of  the  west  to  produce 
maize  is  practically  illimitable.  In  1877,  the  corn  crop 
of  the  United  States  was  1,340,000,000  bushels.  Though 
nearly  all  of  this  immense  yield  was  grown  in  the  Missis 
sippi  valley,  still  only  a  small  portion  of  our  broad  prairies 
has  as  yet  been  brought  under  cultivation.  A  single 
quotation  from  market  rates  will  show  the  possible  profit 
of  the  corn  trade.  On  the  21st  of  last  November,  the 
price  of  corn  in  St.  Louis  was  forty-four  and  one-half 
cents  per  bushel,  and  in  Liverpool  eighty-seven  cents  a 
bushel.  At  that  date,  the  cost  of  transportation  by  way 
of  the  Gulf,  including  transfer  and  insurance  charges,  was 
thirty-one  cents  per  bushel.  A  profit  of  eleven  and  one-half 
cents  per  bushel  on  all  the  surplus  corn  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  would  soon  restore  our  olden  prosperity. 

The  lower  the  cost  of  water  transit,  the  further  farmers 
could  afford  to  send  their  products  to  market.  Every 
reduction  in  river  rates  would  bring  to  the  Mississippi  the 
tribute  of  a  broader  empire,  and  enlarge  its  commerce  by 
increasing  supplies  of  freight.  The  economies  of  an  im 
proved  channel,  saving  ten  or  possibly  fifteen  cents  a 
bushel  on  all  grain  exported  by  the  Gulf  route,  would  give 
an  immense  impulse  and  expansion  to  the  commerce  of  this 
valley. 

After  the  deepening  of  the  channel,  the  river  will  possess 
many  advantages  over  the  lake  route.  From  Keokuk  to 


24 

the  Balize,  the  Mississippi  is  sometimes  open  to  navigation 
all  winter,  and  in  the  severest  seasons  the  ice-blockade 
seldom  lasts  more  than  two  months.  But  on  the  lakes, 
navigation  is  usually  suspended  about  four  months.  At 
present,  most  of  the  grain  exported  from  Chicago  is  shipped 
in  propellers,  but  the  carrying  capacity  of  even  the  largest 
of  these  boats  is  greatly  inferior  to  the  aggregate  tonnage 
of  an  ordinary  fleet  of  Mississippi  barges.  To  withstand 
the  violence  of  storms,  the  lake  barges  are  large  and 
strongly  built.  The  absence  of  engines  is  their  chief  dis 
tinction  from  propellers.  The  Mississippi  barges,  not  being 
exposed  to  the  turbulence  of  inland  seas,  admit  of  a  rela 
tively  lighter  and  cheaper  construction.  The  lake  barges 
probably  cost  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  the  river 
barges.  The  tonnage  of  a  lake  barge  somewhat  exceeds 
that  of  a  river  barge ;  but  on  the  lakes  a  steam-tug  can 
'tow  only  two  or  three  barges,  while  on  the  upper  Missis 
sippi  a  steam-tug  can  tow  from  six  to  ten  barges,  and  on  the 
lower  Mississippi  an  almost  unlimited  number.  The  cur 
rent  of  the  lakes  is  so  slight  as  to  be  an  unfelt  element  in 
their  navigation,  but  the  current  of  the  Mississippi  is  an 
effective  force.  The  rapidity  of  flow  varies  from  three  to 
five  miles  an  hour.  The  energy  of  the  current  alone 
almost  suffices  for  motive  power.  As  all  the  cereal  cargoes 
of  the  Mississippi  are  carried  down  stream,  the  co-opera 
tion  of  the  current  is  an  important  element  in  transporta 
tion.  With  all  these  various  sources  of  economy,  the 
improved  Mississippi  must  be  a  much  cheaper  course  to 
foreign  markets  than  the  lake  route.  It  is  believed  that 
the  improvement  of  the  river  and  organized  competition 
would  reduce  the  freight  to  Liverpool  to  twenty-five  cents 


25       <*         4 , 

4y  y/ 

per  bushel.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  open 
the  channel  through  which  so  full  a  tide  of/  wealth  liquid 
flow? 

J&\      °/ 

LUMBER    TRADE    OF    THE   UPPER    MISSISSIPPI.        X  f  / 

Lumber  interests  of  an  importance  scarcely  inferior  to 
that  of  the  grain  trade  are  deeply  involved  in  this  scheme 
of  improvement.  The  total  quantity  of  logs  and  lumber 
rafted  down  the  upper  Mississippi  now  reaches  an  annual 
average  of  1,000,000,000  feet,  and  represents  a  value  of 
115,000,000.  Of  this  amount,  about  900,000,000  feet  are 
absorbed  by  the  towns  along  the  river,  and  100,000,000 
feet  are  brought  to  the  lumber  yards  of  St.  Louis.  The 
lumber  which  is  not  consumed  by  the  river  towns  is  sent 
into  the  interior  by  rail.  The  range  of  distribution  varies 
from  100  miles  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  1000  miles  west 
of  the  river.  The  lumber  business  can  never  be  diverted 
from  the  Mississippi.  Wherever  the  possibility  exists,  it 
will  always  be  done  by  river.  But  low  water  subjects 
raftsmen  to  embarrassing  and  expensive  detentions.  The 
necessity  of  employing  larger  crews  and  heavier  tow-boats 
materially  increases  the  costs  of  navigation.  According 
to  the  judgment  of  practical  lumbermen,  the  permanent 
deepening  of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  would  dimin 
ish  the  expense  of  rafting  by  fully  one-third  of  the  present 
rates.  The  improvement  of  the  river  would  reduce  the 
price  of  lumber  throughout  the  Mississippi  valley. 

By  the  discharge  of  its  duty,  the  Government  would 
relieve  momentous  interests  from  grave  embarrassments, 
and  confer  an  appreciated  favor  upon  the  humble  pioneers 
who  are  struggling  to  erect  homes  of  their  own  in  the 
wilds  of  the  west. 


26 


MAGNITUDE    OF    OTHER    COMMODITIES. 

Nor  does  lumber  close  our  inventory  of  valuable  com 
modities. 

During  the  fiscal  year  1876,  the  United  States  shipped 
to  Europe  more  than  550,000,000  pounds  of  pork  and  other 
swine  products,  and  the  total  value  of  these  consignments 
was  §67,800,000. 

During  the  eighteen  months  ending  March  31st,  1877, 
over  34,000,000  pounds  of  fresh  beef— worth  $3,000,000— 
were  exported  from  this  country.  The  foreign  trade  in 
American  uncured  beef  is  rapidly  extending.  Its  cheap 
ness  and  excellence  strongly  recommend  this  food  to  the 
nations  of  Europe.  Under  the  improved  processes  of 
chilling,  the  meat  reaches  foreign  stalls  fresh  and  sound. 
This  trade,  now  in  its  infancy,  will  yet  develop  into  pro 
portions  of  commanding  importance. 

But  the  demands  of  trans-Atlantic  nations  cannot  ex 
haust  our  resources.  The  Mississippi  valley  could  easily 
supply  all  the  meat  markets  of  Europe. 

The  almost  measureless  abundance  of  other  kinds  of 
produce,  the  heavy  southern  staples,  and  the  varied  pro 
ducts  of  our  factories  and  work-shops  are  all  seeking 
domestic  or  foreign  exchange.  An  economical  movement 
of  these  commodities  is  a  subject  worthy  of  the  gravest 
attention  of  our  Government.  The  shipment  to  market  of 
our  plenteous  harvests  would  revive  our  languishing 
industries  and  bless  the  land  with  a  renewal  of  public 
prosperity.  Free  from  obstructions,  the  Mississippi  could 
easily  and  cheaply  float  these  products  to  market. 

The  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  in  his  Report  upon 
the  Internal  Commerce  and  Navigation  of  the  United 


27 

States  for  1876,  asserts  that  "the  tonnage  transported  on 
the  various  avenues  of  internal  commerce  is  more  than 
one  hundred  times  greater  than  the  tonnage  composing 
our  foreign  commerce." 

Of  this  domestic  trade,  whose  magnitude  bewilders  the 
imagination,  more  than  one-half  of  the  exchanges  are 
made  in  the  Mississippi  valley ;  and  the  Mississippi  river, 
if  free  from  impediments,  would  be  pre-eminently  our 
greatest  single  factor  in  the  transaction  of  this  enormous 
business.  When  the  interests  involved  are  so  vast  ,  and 
when  the  necessities  of  public  relief  are  so  urgent,  is  it  not 
the  imperative  duty  of  our  Government  promptly  to  remove 
from  this  majestic  stream  every  obstacle  to  navigation? 

In  1867,  it  was  thought  that  the  completion  of  the 
Keokuk  canal  would  effectually  open  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  river;  but  subsequent  years  of  unusually  low 
water  render  further  action  necessary.  And  now  the 
same  arguments  which  advocated  the  construction  of  that 
great  work  plead  for  the  improvement  of  the  channel  of 
the  upper  Mississippi.  While  the  obstructions  remain, 
the  annual  loss  in  costly  delays,  in  interest  on  capital,  in 
local  decrease  of  production,  in  higher  tariffs  of  transit, 
and  in  exorbitant  rates  of  insurance,  would  more  than 
pay  for  the  projected  improvements. 

GRANTS  OF  LAND  AND  CEEDIT  TO  RAILROADS. 

Our  Government  wisely  assisted  in  building  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  that  road,  in  spite  of  the  mistakes 
and  frauds  which  have  been  committed,  has  proved  a 
national  benefit.  And  I  profoundly  believe  that  sound 
policy  will  justify  our  Government,  under  safeguards  that 
will  defy  any  spoliation  of  our  National  Treasury,  in  grant- 


28 

ing  the  loan  of  its  credit  to  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Pacific  Kailways.  In  the  settlement  of  new  lands,  in  the 
development  of  natural  resources,  in  the  increase  of  taxable 
property,  in  the  additional  employment  and  products  of 
labor,  the  accession  to  the  public  wealth  would  far  exceed 
the  expenditures  upon  the  work.  But,  why  should  our 
Government  lavish  §100,000,000*  upon  the  construction 
of  railroads,  and  yet  hesitate  to  give  half  a  dozen  millions 
for  the  improvement  of  our  rivers? 

APPROPRIATIONS    FOR    HARBORS    AND    LIGHT-HOUSES. 

The  many  millions  which  the  Government  has  spent 
upon  the  harbors  and  light-houses  of  the  sea-board  were 
judicious  outlays  for  the  protection  of  life  and  the  encour 
agement  of  international  trade.  But  our  total  foreign  com 
merce — which  now  amounts  to  about  $1,100,000,000  a 
year — is  less  than  the  annual  traffic  upon  the  Mississippi 
and  its  tributaries.  Is  our  foreign  trade  alone  worthy  of 
the  fostering  care  of  the  Government?  Discontinue  our 
foreign  commerce,  and  the  essential  comforts  of  the  Amer 
ican  people  would  scarcely  be  diminished;  but  suspend  our 
river  navigation,  and  there  is  not  a  working-man  in  the 
land  who  would  not  feel,  in  the  higher  cost  of  living,  this 
interruption  of  cheap  exchange.  The  ocean  conveys  to 
our  shores  the  costly  luxuries  which  embellish  the  resi 
dences  of  the  rich;  the  river  brings  to  the  humble  homes 
of  the  poor  a  cheaper  means  of  livelihood.  Which  deserves 
the  first  consideration  of  our  Government?  There  can  be 


*Up  to  January  1st,  1877,  the  extent  of  Government  land-grants  to  the  rail 
roads  of  the  United  States  was  over  200,000,000  acres,  and  the  aid  in  bonds  and 
accrued  interest  amounted  to  more  than  §90,000,000. 


29 

no  valid  objection  to  the  improvement  of  our  seaports,  but 
the  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley  are  entitled  to  equal 
commercial  facilities.  The  aid  which  has  justly  teen 
granted  in  the  one  instance  cannot  rightfully  be  withheld 
in  the  other. 

DOMESTIC    POLICY    OF    FOREIGN    NATIONS. 

The  imperial  powers  of  Europe  have  long  favored  the 
policy,  of  internal  improvements.  France  especially  has 
derived  from  its  public  works  large  dividends  of  material 
prosperity  and  social  well-being.  The  vast  system  of  im 
provements  which  England  has  constructed  in  India  has 
not  only  preserved  its  eastern  empire,  but  has  also  con 
ferred  benefits  and  inaugurated  reforms  which  the  admin 
istration  could  not  otherwise  have  accomplished.  Without 
these  works,  the  ghastly  tragedy  of  starvation  which  has 
lately  been  enacted  in  that  unhappy  land  would  have  been 
incalculably  more  destructive.  England  has  already  spent 
some  $500,000,000  upon  the  railways  and  other  public 
improvements  of  India,  and  British  statesmen  are  now 
urging  their  Government,  with  fair  probabilities  of  success, 
to  expend  §150,000,000  more  in  the  construction  of  works 
of  irrigation  so  vast  as  to  insure  ample  harvests  and  pre 
vent  the  recurrence  of  famine. 

A  policy  that  has  always  proved  so  beneficial  abroad 
cannot  be  unworthy  of  adoption  by  our  own  Government. 

INCREASE    OF    IMMIGRATION. 

There  are  many  reasons  of  a  general  character  why 
Congress  should  take  immediate  action.  The  river  should 
be  ready  for  the  enormous  commerce  which  will  soon  float 
upon  its  waters.  The  signs  of  this  early  expansion  of 
trade  are  numerous.  Into  the  broad  and  fertile  tract  of 


30 

land  lying  immediately  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
stretching  from  Mexico  to  the  British  possessions,  tens  of 
thousands  of  settlers  are  now  pouring.  For  many  months 
the  cars  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  have  been  filled 
with  a  steady  stream  of  immigrants,  and  the  freight  trains 
have  been  heavily  loaded  with  their  household  furniture 
and  farming  implements.  On  the  other  roads  further 
south,  the  western  trains  have  also  been  thronged  with 
immigrants.  And  when  the  magnitude  of  this  year's 
harvest  has  been  published  to  the  world,  the  magnificent 
advertisement  will  cause  still  larger  numbers  to  seek  these 
new  lands.  The  region  extending  500  or  600  miles  north 
west  of  St.  Paul  is  as  well  adapted  to  wheat  culture  as 
any  portion  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  This  new  north 
west  will  export  2,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  this  very 
season.  The  products  of  the  extreme  northern  section 
will  doubtless  seek  an  outlet  by  Duluth  and  the  lakes,  but 
from  its  southern  limits  to  the  borders  of  Mexico,  the 
'  produce  of  the  newly  opened  farms  will  naturally  find 
their  way  to  market  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
Unless  there  is  a  cheap  means  of  transit,  the  cost  of  trans 
portation  from  such  remote  localities  would  exceed  the 
profits  of  production.  The  inexpensive  freightage  which 
the  improved  channel  of  the  Mississippi  would  afford 
will  enable  these  farmers  profitably  to  ship  their  surplus 
products  to  market.  The  river  should  be  seasonably  pre 
pared  for  the  additional  business  which  it  will  soon  be 
required  to  transact. 

FOREIGN   TRADE    OF   SOUTH   AMERICA. 

From  the  domestic  traffic  of  the  Mississippi  river,  there 
is  a  natural  transition  to  its  foreign  exchanges.     Promi- 


31 

nent  among  the  countries  with  which  the  west  could  carry 
on  a  direct  and  greatly  profitable  trade,  stands  South 
America.  The  foreign  commerce  of  the  South  American 
states  is  immense.  Numerous  lines  of  steamers  are  stead 
ily  pouring  the  wealth  of  their  rich  cargoes  into  the  coffers 
of  the  British  and  French  merchants  who  control  this 
trade.  The  United  Kingdom  sends  seven  or  eight  steam 
ships  a  month  to  South  American  waters,  and  there  is 
scarcely  a  day  in  the  year  in  which  a  steamer  does  not  sail 
from  some  European  port  for  the  same  destination.  From 
South  America,  the  voyage  to  Liverpool  is  about  3000  or 
4000  miles  longer  than  that  to  New  Orleans.  The  freight 
on  this  additional  distance  is  equivalent  to  a  heavy  tariff 
in  favor  of  North  American  competition.  Yet  England 
and  France  possess  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  foreign  trade 
of  South  America. 

The  commerce  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  the  United 
States  with  South  America,  is  shown  in  the  following  ex 
hibit  : 

YEAR.          COUNTRY.  EXPORTS.  IMPORTS. 

1875 Great  Britain $82,120,000  $105,500,000 

"   France 59,72-1,000  69,179,000 

1876 United  States 21,600,000  64,588,000 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  profits  on  a  total 
trade  of  more  than  $300,000,000  are  now  enriching  Eng 
land  and  France.  By  an  organized  and  energetic  co 
operation,  a  large  part  of  this  lucrative  business  could  be 
diverted  to  the  United  States.  Nearly  one-eighth  of  all 
our  South  American  imports  come  from  Brazil,  but  the 
balance-sheet  of  our  commerce  with  our  tropical  neighbor 
is  a  disheartening  spectacle  to  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  In  1876,  our  imports  from  Brazil  were  $45,453,000, 
and  our  exports  §7,253,000 ! 


32 

At  present,  there  is  comparatively  but  little  intercourse 
between  the  twin  lands  of  this  continent.  In  the  absence 
of  an  American  line  of  steamers,  the  merchants  desirous 
of  exchanging  visits  and  unwilling  to  encounter  the  vexa 
tious  delay  incident  to  a  voyage  on  a  sailing  vessel  are 
obliged  to  make  a  long  and  costly  detour  by  way  of 
England. 

There  are  symptoms,  however,  of  an  approaching  change. 
The  flour,  machinery,  and  furniture  of  the  United  States 
are  gradually  becoming  more  popular  in  the  markets  of 
South  America.  New  England,  which  is  now  actually 
sending  cotton  goods  to  Manchester  and  wresting  from 
English  manufacturers  their  long-established  supremacy 
in  the  markets  of  China  and  Japan,  will  probably  in  future 
years  supply  Brazil  and  its  neighbor  states  with  their 
cotton  fabrics.  But  the  Mississippi  valley  ought  now  to 
fill  all  South  American  orders  for  heavy  machinery  and 
agricultural  products.  It  is,  indeed,  surprising  that  the 
sagacity  and  enterprise  of  the  merchants  of  this  valley 
have  not  made  earlier  efforts  to  secure  this  enriching  trade. 
A  company  was  recently  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  line  of  steamers  between  New  Orleans  and 
South  American  ports.  But  this  undertaking  will  hardly 
succeed,  unless  a  sufficient  quantity  of  cheap  freight  can 
be  obtained  at  New  Orleans;  but  cheap  freight  in  the 
Cresent  City  implies  a  transportation  untaxed  with  the 
charges  of  costly  interruptions.  Here,  then,  is  another 
reason  of  paramount  weight  for  the  prompt  improvement 
of  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi. 

IRON    INTERESTS    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 

The  physical  character  of  this  valley  will  shape  its 
industrial  destiny.  Our  vast  resources  of  iron  and  coal 


33 

foreordain  this  region  to  be  the  great  central  machine- 
shop  of  the  nation.  St.  Louis — now  the  third  city  in  the 
United  States  in  manufacturing  importance — is  already 
eminent  for  the  excellence  of  its  hardware.  The  fame  of 
its  foundries  and  work-shops  has  traversed  the  ocean  and 
reached  distant  lands.  A  large  Russian  order  for  machin 
ery  was  recently  filled  in  this  city.  These  facts  have 
remote  bearings,  and  possibilities  of  productive  results. 
The  British  exportation  of  iron  and  steel  ware  to  Austra 
lia  is  not  one- tenth  as  large  as  it  was  three  years  ago, 
while  within  the  same  time  the  Australian  demand  for 
American  cutlery  and  hardware  has  increased  twenty  fold. 
Now  St.  Louis  is  thousands  of  miles  nearer  to  the  markets 
of  Australia  than  any  eastern  or  European  seat  of  iron 
manufactures;  and  the  completion  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  to  San  Diego  will  open  a  thoroughfare  600  or 
800  miles  shorter  than  the  present  route.  Then,  with 
the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  freed  from  all  obstacles, 
and  with  the  cheap  freights  which  the  competition  of 
an  independent  Southern  Pacific  Railway  would  insure, 
seemingly  it  would  be  possible  for  St.  Louis  to  control  the 
profitable  hardware  trade  of  that  distant  continent. 

SIGNS    OF    RETURNING   PROSPERITY. 

The  skies  so  long  overcast  are  beginning  to  show  gleams 
of  a  brighter  day.     Already  there  is  an  encouraging  revi 
val  in  manufacturing  industry.     In  1875,  the  exportation 
of  cotton  fabrics  from  the  United  States  amounted  to  only 
•$3,000,000 ;  in  1877,  it  rose  to  $10,000,000.     The  Atlan 
tic  states  do  not  produce  one-tenth  part  of  the  breadstuffs 
which  they  consume.     With  all  their  factories  and  work 
shops   in    successful  operation,    the  proportion  of  home- 
3 


34 

grown  cereals  would  be  still  smaller.  Every  increase  in 
the  manufacturing  prosperity  of  the  east  creates  a  larger 
demand  for  western  products.  The  facilities  for  exchange 
ought  to  correspond  with  the  rapidly  expanding  needs  of 
commerce.  Public  works  which  are  universal  in  their 
benefits  should  be  built  at  the  national  cost ;  therefore 
our  Government,  in  the  exercise  of  its  sovereign  right  to 
regulate  commerce,  ought  to  undertake  these  internal  im 
provements,  and  directly  remove  the  impediments  which 
now  obstruct  our  inland  navigation. 

The  boundless  wealth  of  the  present  harvest  will  do 
much  to  restore  our  golden  guide,  bring  back  the,  Ameri 
can  people  to  their  earlier  habit  of  prudent  dealing,  and 
re-establish  business  on  a  basis  of  stable  values.  In  1860, 
the  Agricultural  Bureau,  judging  from  the  growth  of 
previous  years,  estimated  the  total  grain  crop  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  valley  for  the  year  1880  at  1,200,000,000  bushels. 
In  1874,  the  product  was  already  1,455,000,000  bushels ; 
and  in  1877,  the  aggregate  must  approach  1,950,000,000 
bushels,  which  was  the  estimated  yield  of  1890.  So 
greatly  does  the  rapidity  of  our  development  outstrip  cal 
culation.  Our  tillage  will  fill  our  tills.  The  golden  harvest 
of  1877  will  relieve  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the 
country  and  re-establish  business  on  a  sound  basis. 

The  currency  of  the  Mississippi  is  gold-bearing.  The 
profits  arising  from  the  general  revival  of  trade  which  the 
shipments  of  our  crops  would  cause  would  far  exceed  the 
outlays  required  for  the  improvement  of  the  river.  The 
imperial  stream  which  is  able  to  play  so  important  a  part 
in  the  movement  of  these  harvests  and  in  the  restoration 
of  public  prosperity  ought  at  once  to  be  put  into  a  state 
of  efficient  usefulness. 


35 


INTERESTS    OF    AMERICAN    SHIPPING. 

During  the  civil  war,  our  commercial  marine  was  swept 
from  the  ocean.  Thousands  of  sailors  have  been  driven 
from  lucrative  employment,  and  our  country  has  lost  the 
rich  profits  of  the  carrying-trade  and  the  ready  means  of 
defense  which  spring  from  this  training-school  of  marines. 
The  present  moment  seems  to  be  favorable  for  the  United 
States  to  regain  its  maritime  ascendency.  American  ves 
sels  ought  to  convey  the  cargoes  and  secure  the  profits  of 
our  foreign  commerce. 

The  practical  success  of  the  jetties  seems  now  to  be  an 
established  fact.*  By  their  action,  the  sand-bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  South  Pass  has  been  removed,  and  now 
Atlantic  steamers  drawing  twenty-two  feet  of  water  can 
sail  without  obstruction  to  the  wharves  of  New  Orleans. 
With  a  deepened  channel,  the  Mississippi  would  bear  abun 
dant  freights  to  the  ocean  steamships,  and  greatly  aid  the 
Government  in  its  efforts  to  retrieve  our  marine  pros 
perity.  Deduct  from  our  foreign  trade  the  commodities 
which  are  now  borne  to  the  sea-board  by  the  Mississippi 
river,  and  the  total  is  materially  lessened.  But  the  present 
traffic  is  inconsiderable  in  comparison  with  the  possibilities 
of  our  river  commerce.  In  1876,  more  than  190,000,000 
bushels  of  cereals  were  received  at  the  ports  of  Portland, 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore;  and  of  this 
quantity  over  100,000,000  bushels  were  shipped  to  foreign 


*  The  United  States  Inspector,  whose  duty  it  is  to  report  to  the  Government 
the  progress  of  the  work  and  the  depth  of  the  channel,  has  officially  notified  the 
Secretary  of  War  that  on  the  22d  of  December  there  was  a  practicable  channel 
through  the  jetties  two  hundred  feet  wide  and  twenty-three  and  a  half  feet  deep 
at  average  flood-tide.  There  is  every  probability  that  the  natural  forces  now 
operating  under  the  control  of  the  jetties  will  soon  dredge  a  channel  thirty  feet 
deep  through  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 


36 

lands.  It  is  true  that  some  of  this  grain  is  grown  too  far 
north  or  east  to  be  carried  to  market  by  the  Mississippi, 
but  take  all  the  breadstuff's,  all  the  other  crops  of  the  farm, 
all  the  products  of  the  mill  and  the  work-shop,  which  from 
the  adjacency  of  the  places  of  growth  or  manufacture  are 
naturally  tributary  to  the  river  trade,  and  the  whole 
amount  of  merchandise  which  might  be  conveyed  to  the 
sea-board  by  the  Mississippi  would  swell  our  foreign  com 
merce  to  vast  proportions.  The  beneficial  effect  which  the 
river-borne  cargoes  of  this  valley  would  exert  upon  the 
interests  of  American  shipping  is  still  another  powerful 
argument  in  favor  of  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

INCREASED    DEMAND    FOR   AMERICAN    BREADSTUFFS. 

Russia  is  the  greatest  wheat-producing  country  in 
Europe.  Jealous  of  his  military  fame,  the  Czar  will  never 
consent  to  peace  under  the  humiliation  of  defeat.  The 
numerous  reverses  of  the  Russian  arms — though  retrieved 
by  late  successes — render  it  probable  that  hostilities  will 
continue  through  another  campaign.  Meanwhile  the 
tumults  of  war  will  unsettle  agricultural  industry  in  south 
ern  Russia,  and  the  need  of  fresh  levies  will  withdraw 
the  tillers  of  the  soil  from  productive  labor.  During  the 
coming  season,  Russia  will  scarcely  be  able  to  export  grain 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  The  con 
tinuance  of  the  famine  in  the  Madras  and  Bengal  presi 
dencies  will  diminish  the  exportation  of  wheat  from  India, 
while  the  partial  failure  of  the  grain  crops  in  Europe  and 
the  wants  of  contending  armies  will  probably  create  an 
unusually  large  demand  for  American  breadstuffs.  But 
there  is  no  need  of  prediction,  for  the  enlarged  demand  is 
already  a  recorded  fact. 


37  ...  ' '  •- 

Recently  published  tables  of  British  imports  show  that 
the  importation  of  wheat  during  the  first  eight  months  of 
the  present  year  exceeded  the  receipts  for  the  correspond 
ing  months  of  1876  by  $20,000,000  ! 

Out  of  80,000,000  bushels  of  breadstuff's  imported  into 
England  during  the  current  year  up  to  August  31st, 
60,000,000  bushels  were  shipped  from  the  United  States. 
During  the  eight  weeks  preceding  October  17th,  the  ex 
port  of  wheat  from  this  country  was  over  8,500,000  bush 
els  more  than  our  shipments  for  the  corresponding  period 
of  last  year. 

SAFETY  OF  THE  GULF  EOUTE. 

The  earlier  apprehension  that  grain  exported  by  the 
Mississippi  route  would  be  injured  by  the  climate  of  the 
Gulf  has  been  dissipated  by  commercial  experience.  During 
all  the  years  of  shipment  by  river,  the  cases  of  damage 
have  been  so  very  rare  as  to  prove  that  any  fear  of  injury 
by  the  moisture  or  temperature  of  the  Gulf  is  substantially 
baseless.  For  many  years,  California,  Eussia  and  India 
have  been  carrying  on  a  large  and  increasing  grain-trade 
with  Europe.  With  infrequent  exceptions,  the  freights 
have  arrived  uninjured.  But  the  wheat  exported  from 
California  twice  traverses  tropical  waters;  the  cereals  from 
Odessa  encounter  the  sultry  climate  of  the  Mediterranean; 
and  the  Indian  grain  consigned  to  English  markets  is  ex 
posed  to  the  torrid  temperature  of  the  Arabian  and  Red 
Seas.  If  cargoes  subjected  for  a  longer  time  to  in  tenser 
heat  reach  their  destination  in  safety,  no  climatic  objec 
tion  to  the  Gulf  route  can  be  valid. 

EXAMPLE    OF    THE    UNITED    KINGDOM. 

Great  Britain  has  maintained  its  marvelous  commercial 
sovereignty  by  the  enterprise  of  its  citizens  and  the  wisdom 


38 

of  its  legislation.  It  has  fostered  its  trade  by  protective 
laws  and  vast  systems  of  marine  and  internal  improvements. 
These  public  works  not  only  facilitate  the  operations  of 
commerce,  but  they  also  bind  together  the  empire  with 
the  indissoluble  ties  of  material  interest,  and  furnish  the 
nation  with  a  rapid  means  of  military  concentration1  and 
defense.  In  its  patronage  of  internal  improvements,  the 
example  of  England  is  well  worthy  of  American  imitation. 
Our  Government  ought  to  exercise  the  forecast  and  pro 
vide  the  facilities  which  will  win  and  preserve  mercantile 
supremacy. 

REASONS    FOR    IMMEDIATE    ACTION. 

The,  times  are  specially  favorable  for  the  construction  of 
public  works.  Labor  is  cheap,  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
workingmen  are  out  of  employment.  Clearly  it  is  not 
the  duty  of  the  Government  to  provide  occupation  for 
men  whom  a  depression  of  business  has  thrown  out  of 
place;  but,  if  the  improvements  are  necessary  and  can  now 
be  made  with  unusual  economy,  it  certainly  is  a  strong 
argument  in  favor  of  the  undertaking,  that  a  present 
prosecution  of  the  work  would  bring  relief  to  many,  needy 
families,  and  measurably  hasten  the  return  of  our  disordered 
industries  to  a  healthful  condition. 

The  special  methods  of  improvement  may  safely  be  left 
to  science.  With  an  adequate  supply  of  means,  civil  engi 
neering,  using  the  disciplined  forces  of  nature,  can  now 
make  an  easy  conquest  of  physical  obstacles.  Assuredly 
the  skill  which  abroad  has  excavated  a  strait  between 
oceans  and  pierced  mountain  ranges  with  the  avenues  of 
commerce,  and  which  at  home  has  opened  Hurl  Gate,  built 
the  jetties,  and  dug  the  Keokuk  canal,  is  equal  to  the 


39 

task  of  removing  sand-bars.  Even  in  the  dryost  seasons, 
there  is  always  enough  water  in  the  Mississippi  for  the 
service  of  commerce,  but  its  diffusion  over  so  broad  a  bed 
causes  obstructive  shallows.  The  stream  must  be  deepened 
by  contraction  within  narrower  limits,  and  compelled  to 
exert  its  mighty  energies  to  dredge  out  its  own  channel  ; 
or  else  the  available  lakes  of  Minnesota  must  be  used  as 
reservoirs  to  supply  a  full  tide  during  the  season  of  low 
water. 

In  times  past,  an  occasional  extravagance  in  expenditure, 
or  imperfection  in  the  structures,  has  aroused  popular 
prejudice  against  the  whole  system,  and  temporarily  defeated 
improvements  essential  to  the  commercial  convenience  of 
the  nation. 

The  most  rigorous  economy  and  thoroughly  effective 
work  will  alone  entitle  such  undertakings  to  the  present 
favor  of  Congress. 

An  active  co-operation  of  allied  interests,  forgetful  of 

o 

minor  issues,  persistent  in  effort,  and  jealous  only  of  divi 
sions  which  would  defeat  the  common  hope,  would  surely 
command  success. 

And  then  the  Mississippi  river — whose  southward  course 
was  divinely  directed,  in  order  that  it  might,  by  facilitating 
the  exchanges  of  different  climes,  more  completely  sub 
serve  the  wants  of  man — would  fulfil  its  grand  and  natural 
functions  in  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

In  the  hope  that  the  action  of  this  Convention  may 
result  in  an  early  accomplishment  of  the  desired  object, 
I  am, 

Respectfully,  yours, 

SYLVESTER   WATERIIOUSE. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LD  21A-40m-ll,'63 
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General  Library 

University  of  California 

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